


5 Times Peter Yelled at Tony and Apologized

by orphan_account



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad-Spiderson, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, happy endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: ...and 1 time he's almost too late.This is NOT starker! Irondad+Spiderson! Originally posted on FFN. Repost by the author.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Avengers Team & Original Character(s), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 152





	1. Umm yeah...I was trapped under a building

**Author's Note:**

> Can we just pretend that Peter gets trapped under the warehouse before Tony takes the suit away? And Peter hacked into the suit so it wouldn't alert Tony? Just for the sake of this chapter :)

_If you even cared you'd actually be here._

_Ouch_ , that hurt Tony more than a little bit. He was terrified when he saw Peter on the news holding the ferry together with just his body. He grabbed the suit and got there as fast as he could, heart racing. He was so furious at the kid for hacking the suit that Tony had so carefully designed to keep the kid safe that he wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. Tony got back to his place and stepped out of his suit. It goes back to the lab and Tony heads into his elevator to do the same.

Peter lost his suit and his mentor in one day.

Did he even care?

Of course not. Peter was a nobody from Queens and Mr. Stark was well, Mr. Stark: Genius, Billionaire, Philanthropist. It still stung. Peter thought he cared about him at least a little bit. To be honest, the man was like a father-figure to him. Instead, he yelled at Peter, left him, and took a piece of Peter with him. Peter sighed, collapsed on the bed, and started to sob.

"Maybe I was too hard on him." Tony trails off.

"He was just trying to help Tony. He's probably feeling horrible right now." Pepper says, massaging Tony's shoulders.

"Thanks that really makes me feel better." Tony says sarcastically, putting his head in his hands.

"Tony. Why don't you just give him a call? Show him you care. You do care about him don't you?" Pepper asks.

"Of course I do. That kid is everything to me. I don't know Pep. Maybe I should just leave him alone. He doesn't need me messing up his life." Tony tells her angrily wiping his eyes, cursing his weakness.

"Tony. That kid adores you. If you do that it will crush him. And it would crush you too. Why don't you try getting closer to him, rather than push him away?" Pepper asks.

Tony sighs and looks at Pepper. "What the hell do I do?"

"Give him a call. Don't say sorry, because he did do something wrong. Just show him that you care about him." Pepper says, before walking out of the room.

"Alright." Tony mumbles and picks up the phone.

Peter lifts his head from his pillow and wipes away his tears. His phone is ringing? It's probably Ned. Peter turns and picks up the phone to disconnect the call when he sees the Caller ID. Mr. Stark? Why is he calling? Peter thinks about ignoring it but hesitates. Peter sighs and picks up the call.

"Hello?" Peter asks into the phone, wincing at his gravelly voice.

"Kid? You alright?" Tony asks with a worried tone. Peter almost fell off his bed. 

"I'm fine. Why are you calling?" Peter asks quietly.

"Look kid. I just want you to know I'm doing this for your own good. You really scared me today." Tony says carefully.

Peter scoffs. "You don't have to say that. I get it. You're busy and you don't want to be looking after a random kid from Queens."

"Kid," Tony tries.

"No. I was only trying to help. Instead, I get yelled at and you take away Spiderman, the one good thing I do with my life! You can stop pretending, Mr. Stark . I'm not an idiot. I know you don't want to waste you're time on me. I get that you don't care." Peter says, his voice trembling.

"Are you serious? Do you think I made a multi-million dollar suit for someone I didn't care about? You hacked the suit, Peter! You hacked the suit that was supposed to keep you safe! And who saved your ass all the times you screwed up huh? I was always there when you needed it and you still hacked the suit to do the one thing I told you not to do." Tony says, raising his voice.

Peter sees red. "Always there? You were probably at some stupid party while I was almost crushed to death by a building! Were you there then?!" Peter yells into the phone. Peter gasps silently and mentally slaps himself. Shoot, he wasn't supposed to say that.

"W-What? Crushed by a building? Peter, what are you talking about?" Tony asks, his voice low.

"I have to go." Peter says tears building up in his eyes.

Peter ended the call and let the tears flow.

"Crushed by a building?" Tony whispers, hyperventilating.

"I have to go.' Peter says quickly and ends the call.

Tony clutches his chest as the phone falls out of his hand.

"FRIDAY. What did he mean by "Crushed by a building"? Was this when he hacked the suit?" Tony asks his AI.

"Yes. But I can provide audio from the suit." FRIDAY replies.

"Play it." Tony chokes out. Tony listens in horror as Peter screams and begs someone to save him.

"FRIDAY turn it off." Tony whispers as he hits the ground. He couldn't protect his kid. Peter was crushed by a building and Tony had no idea. Was he hurt? Tony couldn't breathe. He failed his kid.

"FRIDAY don't,-don't call anyone." Tony got out.

Peter felt horrible. He had yelled at his mentor, who was only trying to keep him safe. Sure he was mad, but that didn't mean he could scream at his role model! And now, he was probably freaking out because of him. God, Peter was such an idiot. But Tony didn't call back. Peter thought that was really strange. Something was wrong. Peter tried calling but he didn't pick up. Peter started to panic a bit. Did something happen? His gut told him to go check to see if he was ok and apologize. Peter sighs, hoping he was making the right decision. He pulled on his homemade suit and his old web-shooters, left a note for his aunt, and swung out the open window.

Peter arrived at the Tower in record time. Probably because he was trying to get there as fast as he could. He knew something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what. As soon as he got into the Tower, his spider-sense started to tingle almost painfully. He changed quickly and stepped into the elevator. He knew where his mentor was.

"FRIDAY. Take me to Mr Stark's private lab please." Peter requests.

Peter scanned his card and slowly entered the room.

"Mr. Stark?" he asks timidly. Peter's scans the room.

"Oh my God. Mr. Stark ?" Peter squeaks, running to Tony's side. He was on his knees with one hand on the floor, shaking, trying to breathe.

Peter kneels down at Tony's side and puts a hand on his mentor's shoulder. "Please say something. Mr. Stark, what is happening?"

Tony lets out a choked sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." he repeats.

"I'm right here. Please tell me what's wrong." Peter pleads, starting to freak out a bit. His mentor's face looked too white to be ok.

"Mr. Stark, you need to breathe." Peter says, placing a hand on Tony's chest. Tony lets out these gasping sounds and tries to talk. "I'm so-rry. Peter. It's a-all my fault." he chokes out, shaking violently. Peter pulls Tony into his arms, holding him tightly.

"It's my fault. It's not your fault. Please breathe, you're scaring me Tony." Peter whispers.

That finally broke through to Tony. Peter was here and Tony was scaring him. Tony took a painful breath and tried to regulate his breathing. Peter didn't know what to do so he put a hand in Tony's hair and started to stroke it, muttering soothing words.

"Shit. I'm so sorry kiddo." Tony apologizes, avoiding Peter's eyes, but not pulling back.

"This is my fault. I freaked you out and I hurt you. I'm sorry." Peter says, a few tears escaping his eyes.

Tony slips off of Peter's lap and holds himself up with a bit of effort. "I need to tell you something before I-I, get back to my senses." he says, chuckling softly.

Peter stares at him for a second and nods.

"I'm not good at all this stuff. My dad ignored me my whole life and I-I didn't want to mess it up with you. But, God...I love you Peter. And yeah I see you as a son. That's why I yelled at you, and took away the suit. It's because I don't think I could keep it together if something happened." Tony finishes, looking into Peter's sparkling eyes.

"Oh." Peter looks down with an ashamed expression.

Tony looks away. "It's ok if you don't feel the same I get it but, just so you know. I...I care about you." Tony says quickly.

"No, no it's just... I-I thought you didn't care about me. And that sucked cus I think of you like that too. Like...a father-figure type thing." Peter rambles nervously.

Tony looks down quickly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Peter says, smiling slightly.

"Well, at least I don't feel like an idiot." Tony jokes, trying to regain his composure, watching as his mental walls reformed. Of course, Peter saw through it.

Peter frowns

"What?" Tony asks, confused.

"You keep everything in. It's not healthy. Do you not trust anyone?" Peter asks with his childish innocence.

Tony cards a hand through Peter's hair. "I don't know."

"You can trust me." Peter says, looking at him with eyes filled with trust and love. Tony feels like crying. He doesn't deserve anyone looking at him like that.

"I've always trusted you kid." Tony says softly. Peter grins, stands up, and offers Tony a hand.

"I left Aunt May a note. Is it ok if we do some lab stuff?" Peter asks.

"I want nothing more, kid." Tony says, taking the hand and tugging himself off the floor. They settle on the bench and start to work in silence.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you too."


	2. It's been a long day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter!

"Yo Penis!"

Peter sighs. "Go away Flash." Flash walks up to him with a smirk on his face.

"Where are you going Penis? To the Tower? To do your "Internship"?" Flash asks with a sneer.

"Yup. It's Friday and that's what I do on Fridays. Leave me alone." Peter says walking past him and out the doors.

Flash runs in front of Peter and shoves him.

"I don't believe it for a second. You're full of crap. Tony Stark would never care about a worthless piece of lying shit like you." Flash says, shoving Peter again.

Peter stumbles back and glares. "I don't give a shit about what you think, Flash. Get out of my way."

"What the hell did you say to me?" Flash asks incredulously.

"I said, Get. Out. Of. My. Way." Peter enunciates slowly. He was not in the mood to deal with Flash right now.

"You piece of shit. You'll regret that." Flash growls as he rears his fist back as far as he can.

Peter sees the fist coming, almost in slow-motion. He lets it come. Old Peter couldn't dodge Flash so that means Peter can't do it now. Peter is blown backward and tumbles down the concrete stairs, cracking his head on the sidewalk. Peter tries to get up but collapses back down. He reaches up to touch his forehead, to find a deep gash where he cracked it against the concrete. _Ouch_. That hurts.

"Oh Geez. Pete?" someone says, running over to him. Peter faintly sees someone in front of him but he can't tell who it is.

Peter feels hands on his shoulders for a moment before the figure rises up again.

"What the hell did you do to my kid?"

"Hey FRI? When does Pete's school end again?" Tony asks his AI.

"Midtown High closes at 2:50 PM boss."

"Can you text Happy that I'll pick up the kid today? I feel like going for a drive."

"Sure boss."

To be honest, Tony just wanted to see the kid earlier. He has been having a crappy day, full of boring meetings and stupid clients. The kid always made Tony feel better and Tony loves their Friday lab days. The man loved Peter, though he would never admit it to the kid.

Tony grabs the keys to his favorite Audi and hits the road.

Tony stops in front of the school. He sees Pete talking with another boy near the stairs. Tony smiles and looks down at his phone to text the kid to turn around. Suddenly, he sees a flash of movement. The next thing Tony knows, Peter is on the ground at the bottom of the stairs with the other boy laughing above him. Tony throws open his car door and slams it shut, racing toward Peter.

"Oh Geez. Pete?" he asks, kneeling at the kid's side. Peter just looks at him with glazed eyes. Tony stands up abruptly.

"What the hell did you do to my kid?" Tony growls.

"Umm s-sorry s-sir. I-It was an a-accident." Flash stutters, looking at Tony like a deer in headlights.

"Accident my ass. What's your name?"

"F-Flash Thompson s-sir."

"You're lucky you're a kid and I can't beat the shit out of you. If you ever touch him again I will personally make sure there isn't a college worth it's shit that will take you. You understand?." Tony glares. Flash nods quickly.

"Get the hell out of here." Tony growls. Flash bolts off into the parking lot as Tony kneels down next to Peter.

"Pete? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Peter says, getting up and putting a hand on his forehead.

"You alright kid? That's a nasty cut you've got there." Tony says, his voice anxious.

"I'm fine. W-what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to pick you up. Low and behold, I find you bleeding out on the sidewalk. Who the hell was that punk kid?" Tony asks, handing his kid his handkerchief to stench the blood.

"It's not a big deal. Just an annoying bully. I'll be fine." Peter tells him.

"We'll fix you up in the MedBay. But we are not done talking about this mister." Tony says, glancing at the teen.

"I'm fine! Honest!"

"Sure kid. Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"There is no brain trauma. The cut will heal in an hour or two." Helen says, patting Peter's shoulder.

"Great. Thanks, Helen." Tony says with a smile. Helen nods and walks out of the room.

"Want to go up to the lab kid?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

"Ok. You want to tell me what's up?" Tony asks.

"No."

"It wasn't a choice kid."

"It's fine Mr. Stark. It's not a big deal." Peter says, getting frustrated.

"How long has he been bothering you? Were you lying to me all those times when you told me you fell?"

"I'm sorry ok? It's really not a big deal." Peter says with a huff. Tony sighs.

"Why didn't you tell me kid?" Tony asks, his tone sharp. Finally, Peter exploded.

"Because I didn't want you to think I'm weak! I'm Spiderman! I can handle a stupid bully!" Peter yells.

"I know you can. But that doesn't explain why you didn't tell me!" Tony says, raising his voice. _Did the kid know he cared? Did Peter not trust him?_

" _Despite_ what you might think, I don't need you!" Peter yells.

Silence.

Peter freezes. He screwed up.

_I don't need you._

Tony looks at ~~his~~...the kid with wide eyes. Peter is looking at Tony with the same expression. Tony feels stabbed in the gut. This was worse than flying that nuke into the wormhole. It was worse than his friend leaving his shield in the middle of Tony's chest. He didn't matter to one of the 3 people he would do anything for. He would die for.

Tony clears his throat and looks down.

"That's fair." he says, his voice low.

_Fix this Peter. Fix this right now._

"That's fair."

His mentor's quiet voice fills the room. 

_Fix this Peter. Fix this, you idiot._

Tony turns back to his project not giving Peter a glance. Peter sees his hands shaking. It's blatantly obvious because the genius's hands never shake. Never, not once. But they were shaking now.

Peter gathers up his courage and tries to speak. It comes out as a sob.

"Mr. Stark." Peter croaks.

Tony looks up, his eyes empty of emotion.

"I-I'm," Peter can't contain it anymore. Big, fat tears roll down his cheeks. Tony sighs and stands up. His kid needs him. So he will be there. Whether he means anything to Peter or not, Tony will always be there for the kid.

Tony hauls his sobbing kid up and leads him to the couch. Tony sits down first and hesitates for a moment. Then, holds out his arms inviting Peter in. Peter curls into Tony's side and just cries.

"Kiddo…" Tony trails off.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Mr. Stark."

"It's ok Peter. I'm not mad. It's fine."

"It-It's not ok. I'm a horrible p-person." Peter sniffles.

"Peter. Look at me." Tony says, voice kind. Peter looks up with red, puffy eyes. It makes Tony's heart shatter into dust.

"You are not a horrible person." Tony says, placing a hand on Peter's head.

"I-I hurt you. You are everything to me a-and I hurt y-you." Peter sobs.

Tony's heart leaps.

"Pete. You're everything to me too. I'm not going to hate you because you had a bad day kid."

"You were just trying to help a-and I yelled at you a-and said that. I-I'm so, so sorry." Peter whispers.

"Everyone has bad days kid. It's a fact of life. You just have to trust me enough to tell me about them so this doesn't happen." Tony pauses.

New tears spring to Peter's eyes.

"Well. I'm going to pull out the big guns now kiddo. I love you, Pete. And you need to know that I care about you. Whatever you need to tell me, whether it's girls, or bullies, or heck you didn't like the school's lunch and you need me to sue them, I'm all ears. You got that kiddo?" Tony says gently.

Peter closes his eyes, nods, and curls more into Tony's side.

"I love you too dad." Peter mumbles. Tony was glad that Peter had his eyes closed. He would never live it down if Peter saw the huge, shiny grin on his face.

Peter starts to snore softly.

"God. You're going to be the death of me, kiddo." Tony says, fondly pressing a kiss on Peter's forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and kudos please! They mean a lot :)


	3. Mr.Stark? I don't feel too good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all you're wonderful comments! They really make my day!

_Tony: Hey kid. We got a lot of stuff to work on today. You want to stay the night?_

_Peter: Really!? Yeah sure, Mr. Stark!_

_Tony: Great. See you then Spiderbaby_

_Peter: NOT a baby :(_

_Tony: Whatever you say Spiderbaby_

_Peter: *groan* See you in a few minutes, Mr. Stark_

_Tony: See ya kid_

"Hey May?" Peter calls.

"What is it, baby?" May asks, appearing in his doorway.

"Mr. Stark says that there's a lot of stuff to do for my internship. Is it ok if I stay the night?"

"I actually have a night shift so it works out perfectly! Sure you can." May says, giving Peter a big hug.

"Ok! I'll see you tomorrow May." Peter says, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and walking out the door.

"Have fun mi amore!” 

Peter walks into a random alley and takes his suit out of his backpack. He puts it on quickly and swings toward the Tower.

Tony sighs and puts down his phone. Sometimes he wishes he didn't have to deal with people that had literally no brain activity. Tony misses his Spider-kid. Tony loves everything about Peter; from his brilliance to his non-stop rambling, to his little quirks. He looks down at his phone and sends a text to Peter, making up some stuff about work. Tony wishes Peter came over more often than once a week.

"Damn FRIDAY. When did I get so soft?" Tony questions.

"Approximately when you met Peter sir."

"It was a rhetorical question FRI." Tony says rolling his eyes. "And you and your sas. I swear I'm going to remember to reprogram you one of these days."

"Sure sir."

"Hello, Peter. Are you well?" FRIDAY asks from the ceiling.

"Hey FRIDAY! I'm doing great! Do you know where Mr. Stark is?"

"He is currently in his private lab."

"Great!" Peter says, stepping into the elevator. "Can you take me to the lab please?"

"Sure Peter."

As the elevator goes up, Peter suddenly feels a bit dizzy and nauseous. His forehead feels hot and Peter felt a little weak. Maybe he shouldn't have skipped out on sleep all those nights...and meals. Peter sighs and rubs his eyes promising to himself that he will get more sleep after tonight's patrol.

"Hey, Mr. Stark!"

"Hey, kid. How was school?"

That was all Peter needed to tell Tony every single thing about his day, not leaving out any details. Tony looked up from his latest Starkphone model and listened to the kid ramble on and on as he put his backpack down and sat at his workbench.

"...and that was pretty much it!" Peter finishes after talking non-stop for a few minutes.

"Kid, I need your lungs." Tony chuckles, getting up from his bench and ruffling his kid's hair.

Peter laughs and gets to work on some new web-formulas while doing his Chem homework. After a little while, Tony leans over Peter's shoulders.

"Whatcha working on kid?"

"Just some web-formula. And homework."

"At the same time? Jeez kid. Why aren't you in college already? You could go to MIT right now if you wanted." Tony jokes.

Peter blushes and turns back to his web-formula.

"You know, kid. You could come around here more than once a week." Tony says nonchalantly. Of course, inside, Tony being Tony was freaking out. He would probably die of embarrassment if Peter rejected him.

Peter's eyes shine. "Really?"

"Yeah. I know your Aunt has shifts in the hospital at random times and you're alone a lot. So you know, come over when she has shifts. If you want, of course."

Peter hesitates for a moment and wraps his arms around his mentor. Tony stiffens for a moment but squeezes back, relieved. Tony hated physical contact, but with Peter it was ok. Peter was his kid.

"Thanks Mr. Stark." Peter whispers, letting go with an embarrassed look.

"Anytime kiddo. Now if you're done with your homework, let's work on that suit of yours."

Tony and Peter worked together like a well-oiled machine. Tony loved the company of the kid and Peter's ideas rivaled his own. But Tony noticed something off about the kid today. He was making less sarcastic quips and yawning a bunch. Sometimes he zoned out and Tony had to tap his shoulder to get his attention again.

"You ok kid?"

"Yeah! I'm fine. Why?'

"Did you get any sleep last night? You look tired." Tony asks, concern coloring his face.

"I'm fine Mr. Stark. I went patrolling last night and I lost track of time. I still got sleep though." Peter lied. Thankfully, Tony bought it.

Probably because Peter never lied to Tony.

"Ok kid. Just set an alarm or something alright? Or I'll start talking to Karen more." Tony threatened.

"Ok, ok! Jeez Mr. Stark."

Tony chuckles.

It was late when Tony finally really realized something was really wrong. Peter was lethargic and some of his words were slurred sometimes. Tony frowned. Is the kid sick or something? Tony caught Peter's screwdriver as Peter dropped it.

"Whoops. Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"Ok Underoos. I think you need some sleep. You're not looking too good."

"I'm fine. Really!" Peter insists, a little harshly. Peter doesn't know where the anger is coming from, but he knows it's not good. Being tired does that to him.

"I seriously doubt that Pete." Tony insists. Damn, this kid is making him go grey.

"Shoot! It's already 7:40! I was supposed to be out patrolling half an hour ago!" Peter says, grabbing his suit. Tony grabs his wrist.

"Kid. I don't think you should go patrolling today." Tony says, looking at the bags underneath Peter's eyes.

"What? Of course I'm going!" Peter says, wrenching his wrist out of Tony's grip.

"Ok. The adult has made the decision. You are not going patrolling. You're going to stay here and let me figure out what's wrong with you." Tony says, gesturing to the couch.

"No! People need me! I'm going." Peter says glaring a bit. Tony is caught off guard with the look Peter is giving him.

"Peter. You are not going. That's final." Tony tells him with finality.

"You can't stop me." Peter says, pushing past Tony. The people in Queens needed him! Why can't Tony understand that! Peter felt fine! Why does Tony care what he does anyway?

"FRIDAY? Peter is not to be let out of the Tower under any circumstance until I say otherwise." Tony says, watching as Peter tried to open the window.

"Are you serious? People need me! If people get hurt, it's my fault." Peter says, raising his voice.

"It is not your fault kid. SpiderMan can take a sick day. If you don't, you will only get worse. Queens will be fine for a day." Tony says calmly.

Suddenly, Peter can't take it anymore. He hates Tony for always treating him like a baby. He can take care of himself!

"I hate you!" Peter yells and stomps off toward his room without looking back.

"I hate you!"

Tony's heart shatters as he watches as Peter stomps off toward his room. But Peter would never say anything like that to him. To anyone. He was too good of a kid to think ill of anyone.

"No, you don't kid!" Tony shouts after him.

Peter collapses on his bed and starts to cry. Everything hurt so much. He knew Tony was right. He didn't hate him. God, he had just told his mentor that he hated him. He's such an idiot. Peter loved Tony. He was the closest thing to a father that Peter had. How could Peter say something like that to the man that had given him so much? He was literally sleeping in the room that his mentor had re-decorated just for him. And what did Peter tell him? That he hated him. Peter was such a brat. Now, he might have just lost him. Tony is probably going to kick him out the next morning. Suddenly, Peter feels nauseous. Peter runs over to his bathroom and throws up his lunch in the sink. After dry heaving for a few more minutes, Peter throws himself on the bed again. He sobs as his exhausted body begins to tremble. Peter wraps his arms around his pillow. Everything hurt. He just wanted Tony.

"FRIDAY? Is Peter alright?" Tony asks after an hour of waiting for Peter to come out.

"He had a fever of 103 degrees. He vomited multiple times as well. Peter is asleep now."

Tony gets up off the couch. "Jesus kid."

"FRIDAY? Why didn't you tell me that the kid had a fever? And that he threw up?" Tony asks angrily.

"There is no current protocol for me to inform you when Peter is sick."

"Then add the damn protocol. I want to know if Peter has even a papercut you understand?" Tony growls, stopping at Peter's door and taking a deep breath.

"Yes sir."

Tony quietly steps into the room. He walks over to Peter's bed and sits down.

"FRIDAY. Turn the light on to 10 percent." Tony whispers. The lights go on enough that Tony is able to see his kid.

"Oh, Pete." Tony says sadly, looking at Peter's sleeping form. Peter was curled into his large pillow. His face was flushed and he was trembling in his sleep. There were tear tracks on his face which probably meant the poor kid cried himself to sleep.

Tony sighs and strokes Peter's curls out of his face. He slowly wipes the tears away with the pad of his thumb and pulls the teen into his lap. Tony felt a strange surge of protectiveness when he looked down at his kid. Was this how parents felt like?

Tony stops stroking Peter's hair to press a light kiss on the top of Peter's head. Peter whimpers and his eyes flutter open.

"M'iser St'rk?" Peter asks, sleepily.

"Hey, kiddo. You feeling ok?" Tony asks gently.

The memories come rushing into Peter. Peter starts to cry again.

"Hey, Pete. It's ok buddy. I'll make it ok. Does anything hurt?" Tony asks, stroking Peter's hair again.

"I'm sorry. I'm so s-sorry." Peter says, sobbing into Tony's shirt.

"It's ok buddy. It's ok. I'll take care of you ok?

"I'm sorry for being a-a burden. I'm s-sorry I hurt you Mr. S-Stark." Peter sobs, his breathing quickening.

"Peter you're not a burden. And you didn't hurt me, buddy. You're going to make yourself more sick if you don't calm down." Tony says, rubbing Peter's back.

Peter curls up into Tony's side and listens to Tony's steady heartbeat.

"Hey FRIDAY? Can you get Steve in here? I think he's here right?" Tony asks.

"He is currently in the training room."

"Great. Get him in here. Tell him to ask Bruce for meds."

Tony cards a hand through Peter's sweaty curls and Peter leans into the touch.

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick Peter?" Tony asks.

"I didn't want you to be worried. And I didn't really know I was sick." Peter whispers into Tony's chest.

"Kiddo. I care about you. If you're not feeling good, you have to tell me. Do you think I don't care?" Tony asks, afraid of the answer Peter might give.

"No, no. It's just, I really wanted to spend the day with you. Like a normal day. These days with you are really important to me. I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before."

"Peter. To be honest, there wasn't that much work to do today. I wanted you to stay the night because I like spending time with you kiddo. The lab days with you are really important to me too. To be honest, they are pretty much the best part of my week. And, I wish you would come over more." Tony admits, chuckling a bit.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Stark." Peter tells him, tears making their way down his cheeks. All this time his mentor truly enjoyed their lab days as much as he did. And how did Peter thank him? By yelling at him.

"Don't apologize Spiderling. Now, why don't you let me take care of you ok?" Tony asks softly.

Peter nods and buries himself back into Tony's chest. Tony's heart swells at the sight. Damn. This kid was going to kill him.

"Thanks, Capsicle." Tony says, grabbing the fever meds and water that Steve had brought from the MedBay.

"No problem. Is the squirt alright?" Steve asks worriedly.

Tony smiles at his concern. The whole team had a soft spot for his kid.

"He'll be fine. I hope..." Tony trails off, looking at Peter's flushed sleeping face worriedly.

"He will. He has you." Steve says sincerely.

Tony feels the tears at the back of his eyes. "Thanks, Steve."

Steve ruffles Peter's curls gently and nods.

"Goodnight Tony."

After Steve walks out, Tony turns to Peter's sleeping form on his chest.

"Pete. You have to wake up and take your meds. Cap brought you soup too." Tony says, shaking Peter's shoulder a bit.

Peter winces and he opens his eyes.

"Hey. You gotta take your medicine so you can feel better. Bruce made them 'specially for you and your weird spidey metabolism thing." Tony jokes.

Peter smiles weakly and takes the medicine. Tony grabs the bowl of soup and puts it to Peter's lips. Peter sips the soup and hums contently, leaning into Tony.

As Tony slowly feeds Peter, Peter makes his way into Tony's neck. Tony looks down with fond eyes and rests his chin on top of Peter's head.

"You're going to feel better soon alright?" Tony asks gently. Peter nods.

"Thanks for everything Tony." Peter mumbles.

"No problem Spiderbaby."

*groan*


	4. What did I do to deserve you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Not too happy with this chapter but I'll let you guys be the judge of that! Please leave a comment kudos! They mean the world :)

"Boss. There is a breach opening up in the middle of the city." FRIDAY informs Tony and the team through the blaring alarms.

"Suit up! Hey kid, I think you're ready for a mission." Steve says looking at Tony. Tony's brow creases in worry but he eventually sighs and nods.

"Well, I can't keep you here forever. You can come with us this time." Tony tells the teen.

"Really?! Thanks Mr. Stark!" Peter says excitedly. Peter wraps his arms around Tony, pulling him into a tight embrace. Tony's eyes widen in surprise but he hugs his kid back.

"Now go suit up!" Tony tells him fondly. Peter nods and runs into his room to get changed.

As soon as Peter is out of sight, Tony allows the panicked expression itching to come up, take over. If anything happened to his kid, he would never forgive himself.

"You ok man?' Rhodey asks, flipping his WarMachine mask up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tony lies.

"Cut the bullcrap Tony. You look like you're going to be sick. I know when you're lying. Might as well tell me the truth." Rhodey says, rolling his eyes.

Tony sighs. "I don't know if I can let Peter come, Rhodes. I'll be worrying about him the entire time and I won't be able to focus."

"Believe it or not Tones, Peter isn't a baby. He patrols almost every night. He trains with all the Avengers every day. I think he's ready for it. I know you love him, but you have to let him out of the nest sometime." Rhodey reassures him calmly

"If something happens to him-,"

"Nothing will happen to him. He has you, not to mention the Avengers in his corner." Rhodey insists. Tony nods and everyone starts to file into the room. Tony taps his device on his chest twice and the IronMan suit encloses around him.

"Ok! Get into the Quinjet people!" Tony announces.

Peter runs into the jet first with the chuckling Avengers on his tail.

"FRIDAY, what are we dealing with here?" Tony asks when they approach the breach. The Avengers had cleared the area as much as they could and were just waiting for something to happen. Before the AI can answer, two beings popped out of the portal. They are 10ft tall and a dirty white color. Red veins bulge out of their muscular bodies. They have razor-sharp claws at the end of their hands. One of them places a device on the road below them, which seems to be the thing opening the portal.

"Well, these guys look friendly." Sam says, flying over the scene.

The aliens look at each other, then regard the hero's standing a few yards away.

"We come in p-" Steve tries.

Then, one of them screams into the portal. Suddenly, a horde of the creatures burst through the portal and charge at the Avengers.

"Peace." Steve finishes annoyed.

"Let's kick some ass!" Clint yells from a roof, firing arrows into the thick of creatures.

"Ok guys. Here's the plan. We take them down and throw them back into the portal. Then, destroy that device. Problem solved." Tony says into the coms.

"Easy enough." Sam says, grunting as he dodges a swing from one of the aliens.

Steve lets out a grunt of pain. "Shit! Don't let those claws touch you!" Steve yells into the comms, panting with effort.

"You ok Steve?" Natasha asks.

"I'm fine."

"Woah! These guys are so cool!" Peter says, kicking one in the face.

"Be careful kid." Tony, Steve, and Natasha say at the same time.

"You guys! I'm fine geez." Peter complains, webbing one up and throwing it into the portal.

An hour passed by and the Avengers were still at war. They had managed to get everyone to safety, but the creatures were really hard to immobilize and the heroes were running low on energy.

"They have some weird-ass weapons. The newer ones from the portal are bringing them in." Rhodey says.

"Shit. Do you know how powerful they are?" Natasha asks.

"No, but I don't really want to find out." Rhodey says, blasting his repulsor ray into the monster's chest.

Peter was beyond excited. He was on a real mission with the Avengers! And they were fighting actual aliens! How cool was that? He swung from building to building kicking the creatures with the momentum and all his might. Whenever someone looked like they needed help, Peter would kick the creature away and web them up.

"Thanks squirt." Clint says, getting back on his feet.

"No problem!" Peter says, swinging his way to Tony's side to check on him.

"Catch Pete!" Tony says, throwing an unconscious monster at him. Peter catches it with ease and chucks it into the portal.

"You're doing great kid. Good job." Tony says, secretly proud of his spider-kid. Peter glows at the praise.

"Thanks Mr Stark." Peter says.

There were only a few more left and they were about to win. Tony and Peter were separated, but Peter had Natasha for backup, so he was fine. Suddenly, Peter's spider senses went off. It was like a surge of electricity that shocked his entire body. He turns around to see his mentor fighting an alien. And, there was one behind him, only 15 ft away, aiming its weapon at Tony's chest. Peter lets out a strangled scream and launches himself at Tony. Tony turns to see where the scream came from and looks at Peter with a confused expression.

"Get out of the way!" Peter yells.

Peter tackles Tony just as the weapon is fired. He can feel the heat of the small missile as it whisks past them into a small shop. Peter winces and finds a piece of glass in his shoulder.

"Oh my God. Peter." Tony whispers, pulling the boy into his Iron-clad arms.

The team is screaming into the coms asking whether they are both ok.

"Are you ok buddy?" Tony asks, tears pricking the back of his eyes.

"Oh my God. You almost died Tony. I-It was right there dad." Peter says, letting out a weak sob.

"Oh, Pete…" Tony trails off, holding the teen close to his chest. Tony's heart swells from Peter's words, but he has more important things to think about right now.

"Take care of the kid Stark. We've got this." Sam says.

Tony lifts Peter up bridal style and they fly to the Quinjet.

"He will be ok Tony. I took out the glass and stitched it up. You can stop pacing now." Bruce says softly. He pats Tony on the shoulder and retreats into the small lab on the jet.

"Oh thank God." Tony says, his heart thundering in his chest. Peter walks over to Tony and pulls him down on one of the beds.

"Are you ok Mr. Stark?" Peter asks, his eyes more than a little glassy. Tony almost died. If Peter was a second too late, his mentor would have been gone. Peter doesn't even want to think of life without Tony.

"I'm fine Peter. But what the hell was that huh? Why the f-...hell would you do that?" Tony asks pointedly. He knows he shouldn't be mad at his kid, but he is. What if that missile had gone off a little early? Then Peter would have died along with Tony. Peter could have died protecting Tony. Tony would never forgive himself if that happened.

"What do you mean why did I do that? Did you want me to watch you die?" Peter asks, anger burning in his eyes.

"You could have died Peter! My suit would have protected me!" Tony shouts.

"We both know that that's not true. That thing was too big, and you would have died! I would do it again in a heartbeat." Peter tells him confidently.

Tony's throat constricts. "Stop it with that self-sacrificing BS. If you died-" Tony stops, swallowing bile.

"Why do you do that? Do you think your life doesn't matter? You've saved so many people but you still think you're somehow lesser than everyone else. Why do you think that?" Peter asks frustratedly.

Tony blinks the tears out of his eyes. What did he do to deserve this perfect child in front of him? One who sees only the little good and none of all the bad.

"Peter. You mean more to me than you can imagine. You can not risk your life for me. I forbid it." Tony says, trying to make the teen understand.

Peter shakes his head. "And you think I would be able to take it if I let you die, knowing I could have saved you? Tony, I got a piece of _glass_ stuck in my shoulder in exchange for your _life_! I would take that any day. Do you know how terrified I was when I saw that thing point that missile at you? I-If I was late for even a second, y-you would have…" Peter lets out a small sob, thinking about what would have happened. Tony pulls his kid into his arms and cards a hand through Peter's sweaty curls. They both listen to the other's heartbeat, thanking whatever was above that the other was alive and in their arms. Peter trembles slightly, looking up and memorizing every part of Tony's face.

"Just...just promise me you'll never do that again." Tony sighs. Peter wrenches out of Tony's grip.

"No. I will never promise that. I will always save you no matter how many times you tell me not too. That's something I will promise." Peter says, avoiding Tony's piercing stare.

"If you died it would be on me Peter! Damn it kid! You know I wouldn't be able to take it if you died, especially if you died saving me. I need you to tell me that if it's my life or yours, you will choose yourself over me." Tony stops and catches his breath. He knew he was dangerously close to a panic attack.

Peter flinches. "I can't lose another dad! My father died. My uncle died in my arms. I'm not letting you die too!" Peter yells, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Tony mentally slaps himself. Shit. Of course, the kid would want to protect him. All the male figures in his life were ripped away from him. And...and Peter had called him dad.

 _Idiot_. _You're an idiot Stark._

"Kid-" Tony tries.

"No, just stop. I-I need to go." Peter says, wiping at the tears. He runs into the conference room and shuts himself inside.

Tony massages his temples defeatedly. He feels like absolute shit. Sure, he didn't want his kid to risk his life for him, but Tony didn't think about it from Peter's point of view. Obviously he wouldn't want to watch Tony die in front of him, like his uncle. But what really caught Tony off guard was how much Peter cared about him. Enough to call him a father. Tony wiped at his eyes again. He desperately wanted to coax his kid out and talk to him, but he knew he needed to give the teen some space.

After a little while, the team comes tromping back in, looking more than a little beat.

"Where's Peter?" Steve asks.

"Is he alright?" Natasha asks.

"Hey, where is the little squirt?" Clint asks.

"He's fine. Bruce fixed him up." Tony says, looking down.

"Tony. What's wrong?" Rhodey asks, looking at his best friend.

"I messed up. He saved me and I told him my life isn't worth his and he got mad at me. I just forgot how much he lost for a second and didn't think about how he must be feeling." Tony rambled.

"Tony. The kid idolizes you. We all see the bond you two have. And we all heard him call you dad. You mean the world to him. Just give him time." Natasha says patting his shoulder and sitting down on a bed. The rest of the team agrees.

"He's probably pretty scared Tones. I mean, you almost died. You might want to talk to him when we get home." Rhodey tells him.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just scared I lost him Rhodes. Geez without that kid, I don't know. Tony croaks, furiously wiping at his eyes.

"Give it maybe an hour. That kid loves you, Tony. You couldn't lose him if you tried." Rhodey chuckles, making his way over to an empty chair.

Tony sighs. He hopes his friends are right.

As soon as the Quinjet lands, Peter walks briskly into the Tower before Tony can catch him. He rides the elevator up to his room and locks the door. Peter sits on his bed and puts his head in his hands. He regretted yelling at his mentor. Peter had made him feel guilty and that too after calling him dad. Peter hadn't meant to call him dad, but he was just so relieved Tony was in one piece and was holding him. He would be lying if he said he didn't think of Tony as a father. Peter meant everything he said to him though. He would save his mentor again in a heartbeat.

Peter sighs. He needs to find Tony. He knows how big Tony's guilt complex is, and he knows he's going to blame himself for what happened. Tony probably thinks Peter hates him right now. And Peter can't let that happen. Because, the opposite is true.

"FRIDAY? Where's Mr. Stark?"

"He is currently in his private lab. Would you like me to get him for you?"

"No. I'm going down there."

Peter walks into the lab quietly. Tony is hunched over some tech. Silent tears are streaming down his face but he doesn't seem to notice them. Peter's heart clenches at the sight. He walks toward Tony, but the mechanic is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't notice him. Peter kneels down and wraps his arms around his mentor. This jolts Tony out of his thoughts and he relaxes into the hug when he realizes who it is.

"Wh't are you doing here kid?" Tony asks, trying to wipe his face. Peter sighs but stays silent.

They stay there like that for a moment before Peter wordlessly leads them to the couch. Tony leans on Peter's shoulder, allowing himself a few moments of weakness. Peter puts an arm around his mentor and a hand in his hair. It always makes him feel better when Tony does it for him, and Peter knows Tony needs some comfort right now. He hates seeing his mentor so vulnerable, but Tony was always there for Peter, and Peter was determined to be there for the few times his mentor needed him.

"It's not your fault. None of it is." Peter tells him.

Tony doesn't answer. One, because Peter's hand in his hair is grounding. He understands why Peter likes it so much when he does it. And two, he knows it is his fault. He didn't think of what Peter was feeling. And he had hurt him.

"You didn't hurt me." Peter says. He could read the expression on his mentor's face almost as easily as he could read a book.

"How did you know.." Tony trails off. Peter ignores him.

"If anything, I hurt you. I yelled at you." Peter says, hanging his head.

"You didn't-"

"I did. And I'm sorry. It's just...you mean too much to me. I couldn't watch you get hurt, or..worse. I didn't mean to yell at you." Peter gets out.

" God I thought you would hate me." Tony admits, curling into Peter more. He hated feeling so weak. And the feeling he hates most is vulnerability. But everything about Peter made him feel safe enough to let go of the self-loathing.

"I could never hate you. I wish you would understand that. I love you. You're my mentor and my father-figure and I would do anything for you." Peter says sincerely.

Tony holds back his tears as he wraps his arms around his kid.

"I hate this. Shit. I hate this so much. Working in the lab is so much better."

"That's your problem. You avoid everything and bottle it all up and then eventually, everything will come out. I just wish you would see yourself the way I see you." Peter tells him, tears pricking his eyes. He hated how little his mentor thought of himself. But Peter vowed to fix it.

Tony pulls himself together, Peter's words encouraging him.

"I'm sorry kiddo." he says, his voice low.

"I'm the one who's sorry. Dad." Peter says gently. Tony hugs Peter tighter and puts his face in Peter's neck. Peter resumes playing with his mentor's hair. Tony smiles and closes his eyes.

"What did I do to deserve a kid like you?" Tony asks sleepily.

Peter smiles fondly.

"Just being you. That's enough."


	5. Don't yell at my dad Rogers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and leave kuddos! I love you all!

"Hey Mr. Stark!" Peter calls, dropping his backpack on the floor.

"Hey kiddo. How was school?" Tony asks, smiling at the teen. He hoped the kid's rambling would distract the teen from his obvious anxiety.

"It was fine...Are you ok? You look kind of pale." Peter asks worriedly. Tony sighs. Of course the kid would notice. Just his luck.  
Peter sits down next to his mentor.

"Do you remember how I told you about Siberia?" Tony asks.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Peter asks. A wave of anger washes over Peter as he thinks about how hurt and haunted Tony looked after the battle with his ex-best friend.

"Well, that son of a-...the secretary of state wants us to get over our issues. He's making a new contract and he wants me to bring the Avenger's back." Tony says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Peter pales. "You mean... coming back? Like they're going to live in the Tower again? After everything?"

Tony looks at the teen. "Yeah."

Peter slumps forward. "You-you can't. They almost killed you." Peter says, his voice low.

"I don't have a choice." Tony says, leaning back in his chair.

Peter looks up. "It's your Tower." Peter points out.

"Apparently that doesn't matter."

"I'm not letting you go in there alone with...with them." Peter says, looking into his mentor's eyes. Peter cared about his mentor and he wasn't about to let Tony in there without backup.

Tony's eyes soften. "I won't be alone Pete. Rhodey's going to be with me." Tony says kindly. Tony sees the protectiveness in his kid's eyes. It melts Tony's heart. But there is no way he is going to let Peter anywhere near the Rogues. Not after what they did to him.

"I always worry about you. You always get into some kind of trouble. I'll come with you too." Peter says.

"Peter. I can't let you come. Not after what they did. And if they you know..." Tony trails off, the same protectiveness burning in his eyes.

Peter looks away, wanting to argue. He decides against it. The last thing he wants is an argument.

"Nothing is going to happen. When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

Peter runs a hand through his hair. "Ok. But I'm watching. If anything happens, I'll come in there and bust some ass." Peter says determinedly.

Tony laughs and pulls Peter in for a one-armed hug. "God kid. You are so cute."

"Not cute." Peter grumbles, half-smiling.

"Alright. Quit goofing off and start on your homework. Geez, I'm such a dad. Rhodey's right." Tony chuckles.

Peter blushes and grabs his backpack.

After school the next day, Peter comes straight into the Tower. He already told May he was going to stay the night so his aunt wouldn't worry. Peter made haste to the private lab. He found Tony pacing inside.

"Mr Stark? Will you stop freaking out please? I'm getting tired just watching you." Peter says, coming over to his mentor's side.

Tony's worried expression turns into a fond smile in about a second. That's just what his kid does.

"I'm not freaking out Pete." Tony denies, ruffling Peter's hair.

"Uh-huh. Sure you're not. Just take a few deep breaths. Don't let them get to you." Peter tells him.

"I know Pete. You can stop worrying kiddo. I'm being stupid."

Peter wraps his arms around his mentor. Tony tenses for a moment but hugs his kid back.

"What was that for?" Tony asks softly.

"You looked like you needed it. I'll be in the common room watching ok?" Peter asks, pulling back.

"Boss. The Rogues have arrived." FRIDAY says above them.

"Ok. Send them up FRI." Tony says, tensing. Peter nods encouragingly. Tony smiles and puts a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"I'll be back in a bit Pete. We'll have a movie night, just you and me after this." Tony promises.

Peter nods as Tony steps into the elevator.

Tony takes a deep breath and steps into the conference room. The former Avengers stay silent as he takes a seat. Tony lets out an internal sigh of relief when he realizes Barnes is not at the table. Seated around him are Steve, Natasha, Clint, Sam, and Rhodey by his side.

"I won't let Ross put you in the Raft. But, I have conditions." Tony says, addressing them all.

They nod thankfully and Natasha gestures him to speak.

"You are not allowed on my private floor. If you need me I will come down to your floor." Tony pauses. When they stay silent, Tony continues.

"Next, you might remember Spiderman. He comes around here a lot. His name is Peter. If anyone tries to get information out of him or talk to him about anything related to all this shit, I reserve the right to seriously injure you. Do you understand?" Tony asks seriously. The ex-Avengers have confused looks on their faces but agree.

"That's it. You can use any of the rooms on your floor. Just don't bother me and my family." Tony says, aware of the hurt expressions on most of their faces. He knows that they were family. But that was before they left him to die in the snow.

"Tony. I have a request." Steve speaks up. Tony avoids his eyes.

"What Steve?"

"Bucky stays here with me." Steve says confidently.

Tony sucks in a breath. After everything that happened, how could he ask that?

"How dare you ask that you-" Rhodey yells.

Chaos breaks out. Everyone is yelling at each other. Rhodey is yelling profanities at Steve while Steve is yelling at both Rhodey and Tony. Everyone else is either taking Steve's side or trying to break up the fight.

Tony starts to hyperventilate. He can't take this. Suddenly, he's back in Siberia on the ground with the shield in his chest. 

Tony can't breathe.

Peter knew this wasn't going to end well. As soon as Tony left, his spider-sense started to tingle. Peter turned on the security camera and watched. Not long after, a fight broke out. Everyone was yelling at each other but all Peter saw was Tony. On the outside, he looked tense, maybe a bit angry. But Peter could read his mentor even through a security camera. He could see the vein tensing on his temple. Peter could see the panic in his mentor's eyes. Anger coursed through Peter as he ran into the elevator and ordered FRIDAY to take him to the conference room.

Peter runs into the room straight to Tony. The room falls silent.

"Hey Tony. Lets go." Peter says, barely controlling his anger. He sees the mixed look of fear and relief as Tony rises and steps out of the room.

When Tony is out of the room, Peter lets his anger go.

"If you ever speak to him like that ever again, I will stuff that ugly-ass shield up your star-spangled ass. You understand?" Peter asks, glaring with all he has at the super-soldier.

Steve looks at the teen, stunned, and nods.

Peter looks at the rest of them. "He saved you from that floating shit-hole, let you into his home after you left him to die in the snow, and you yell at him, instead of thanking him!? You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Everyone in the room except Rhodey looks down at the floor.

Peter walks out of the room without a second glance.

Peter walks out to find Tony. When he doesn't find him anywhere, he heads to the lab.

"Mr. Stark? Are you in here?" Peter asks.

"Hey Pete." Tony says, looking at Peter with slightly red eyes. Peter sighs and walks to his mentor.

"Are you ok?"

"God kid, I don't know." Tony chuckles half-heartedly.

Peter frowns suddenly feeling anger. "How could you let him talk to you like that?"

"Pete-" Tony tries.

"No. He had no right to request anything from you. You should have walked out of there." Peter says.

"Peter I'm fine-"

"You were about to have a panic attack! You were not fine!" Peter yells.

Tony looks at his kid stunned. Peter takes a few deep breaths and calms down.

"I'm sorry. It's just, I've never seen you that scared. And it scared me." Peter admits.

Tony wraps his arms around Peter. Peter rests his head on Tony's shoulder. Tony pulls back after a bit and they settle on the floor.

"Shit. I'm sorry I scared you kiddo. It's just...that was hard." Tony admits.

"I know. I know that sucked." Peter sighs.

"Thanks for getting me out of there. ." Tony says genuinely.

"They're lucky I didn't kick their asses." Peter says laughing.

"Why didn't you?" Tony asks teasingly.

Peter shrugs. "I had more important things to think about."

Tears prick the back of Tony's eyes and he looks at his hands. Peter puts a hesitant hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine spider-baby." 

Peter rolls his eyes and nods.

Tony frowns. "You didn't come get me right away. What did you say to them?" Tony asks suspiciously. Peter turns bright red.

"N-Nothing." he stammers. Tony grabs Peter and pulls him into his chest before he can run away.

"FRIDAY, play the footage from the conference room after I left." Tony requests. Peter looks away, cheeks burning as Tony watches the screen stunned. Tony holds Peter a little tighter after it.

"Captain America is going to kill me." Peter groans, burying his face into Tony's chest.

"He's probably gonna try. But you would kick his ass." Tony snickers.

Peter laughs and grins up at Tony.

"And plus, I would kill him if he touched you anyway." Tony says, ruffling Peter's hair. Peter gives him a small smile and they get up off the floor.

"Boss. Rhodey is requesting your presence in the conference room." FRIDAY informs them. Both Peter and Tony stiffen.

"You're not going back in there." Peter insists.

"If Rhodey called it's probably something important." Tony reasons.

"Fine. But I'm coming this time."

Tony grins and they step into the elevator. "They're probably all afraid of you. I could use that to my advantage." Tony laughs.

As they walk into the conference room, Tony pushes Peter behind him and glares at Steve. Tony looks him in the eye.

"What do you want?" Tony asks.

"I'm sorry Tony." Steve whispers. Tony frowns. It sounded genuine.

"We shouldn't have yelled at you, that too in your own home." Sam says.

Tony nods. But, he can't ignore the empty look in Steve's eyes. It honestly scares Tony. Even after everything that happened, the Avengers are still Tony's family even though he won't admit it most times.

Tony sighs. "Barnes can stay here with you. Just keep him out of my way. But if he does anything suspicious I'm kicking him out capiche?"

Steve looks at him in pure joy. "Thank you Tony. He won't be any trouble I promise."

Tony nods.

"So we were thinking about getting the team back together." Rhodey says quietly.

"All this fighting is useless. We need to stand together as a team." Natasha says.

Tony gives them a small smile. "Alright. I'm cool with that."

"So is this Peter?" Natasha asks. Tony tenses a little but Peter grabs his arm comfortingly.

Tony moves aside so the team can see Peter. Peter is bright red.

Natasha smiles. "I like you kid. You got guts."

Peter looks at her in wonder. "Oh my God, it's Black Widow!" Peter squeaks. Everyone laughs. One by one, Peter is introduced to everyone. Of course, everyone falls in love with Peter right away. Tony smiles. Peter has that effect on everyone. Then it's Steve's turn.

Instead of cowering down in Steve's gaze, Peter looks right into his blue eyes.

"You're something else son. Nice to meet you." Steve laughs, holding out his hand. Peter grins and takes his hand.

"You still suck. But I'm sorry about..you know." Peter says, turning red. Steve smiles.

"You both are really protective over each other." Steve points out.

Tony grins and claps Peter's back affectionately.

"By the way, my threat still stands so behave yourself." Peter says, smiling only half-serious.

"Don't worry kid. The Cap is terrified of you. He won't try anything." Sam jokes. Steve and Peter both laugh.

"Capsicle should be. My kid is like 50 times stronger than him." Tony brags.

"Daaad." Peter groans. Everyone is gaping at Tony, while Peter is beet red.

Tony's heart pretty much bursts with happiness and warmth. Tony tries to hide the huge grin but fails almost instantly.

"Kiiid. You know it's true." Tony says, his voice an octave higher.

Everyone is still gaping at them both.

"You guys look like fish." Peter remarks. That brings everyone out of their shock and they plot to tease Tony, exchanging looks over Peter's head.

"Ok. If we're a team again, you guys are allowed on my private floor. Don't make me regret it." Tony says.

Everyone cheers. "We should have an Avengers movie night!" Peter says excitedly.

"Yeah! That would be fun!" Clint says, high-fiving Peter.

"We used to do that all the time." Steve says.

"Kid, you're already making me regret it." Tony groans.

"Let's go!"

Everyone leaves to settle in their old rooms leaving Tony and Peter alone.

"That wasn't so bad! They're pretty awesome!" Peter says excitedly.

"Great. They're brainwashing you too." Tony laughs.

"Come on! Movie night!" Peter says, dragging his mentor toward the common room.

"God. You're lucky I love you kiddo." Tony laughs. Before Tony can react to his own words, Peter laughs.

"I love you too, now come on!"


	6. Save Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are all unrelated so in this one, Tony doesn't think Peter is ready to fight aliens yet! Just so you know!  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

"A breach just opened up in the middle of Wall Street. Civilians are in danger." FRIDAY informs the Avengers.

"Man, we just started the movie!" Clint complains.

Natasha rolls her eyes. "What is it? Aliens?" she asks, getting up.

"Probably. I don't think anyone on Earth can open a space breach." Tony remarks.

"Awesome! I want to get my hands on the tech that can do that!" Peter says excitedly, lifting his head off of Tony's shoulder. Tony starts to say something but is cut off.

"You're such a nerd squirt." Clint smirks.

"Heyyy!" Peter complains. Clint snorts and ruffles Peter's hair.

"Ok, that's enough. Suit up people!" Natasha calls.

Before Peter can run off, Tony grabs his arm.

"Pete, I don't think you're ready for aliens yet." Tony tells the teen after everyone leaves.

"What do you mean I'm not ready." Peter jokes. Peter's smile falters when he sees the serious look on Tony's face.

"I mean, you need a little more training. I can't just let you fight aliens when you're not ready for it." Tony explains.

"Mr. Stark, I'm fine! I beat Vulture while on the outside of a plane at 20,000 ft off the ground! I can handle aliens." Peter insists. Tony's heart hammers at Peter's words as guilt fills him up. This kid was really not helping his case.

"Kid. I'm just trying to keep you safe. You can't be reckless fighting this kind of thing. Ok, end of discussion. You're not going." Tony says with finality.

Anger burns in Peter's eyes. "You can't stop me. I'll just follow you." Peter threatens, his voice low. Tony whirls around.

"What did you just say?" Tony dares. Peter doesn't falter.

"I said, I will follow you. You can't just keep me locked up here." Peter says glaring at Tony. Tony takes a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper.

"Oh yeah? FRIDAY, Peter is not allowed out of this Tower under any circumstance you understand?" Tony asks his AI.

"Of course boss."

"I can keep you locked up here and I will. This is for your own safety kid. And we will have a talk when I get back." Tony says, turning away from his kid.

Peter goes red. "You can't do that!" Peter says, raising his voice.

"Just did kiddo." Peter runs in front of Tony and stands in front of him. Anger consumes him as Tony looks at him and sighs.

"You are not my dad. You can't tell me what I can and can't do." Peter growls. Tony stops at that. He tries to hide the pain in his eyes. The one thing he never learned to hide was emotion through his eyes. It's why he wore sunglasses everywhere.

"You are not going." Tony says, his voice cracking. With that, Tony walks toward the Quinjet ignoring the tears pricking the back of his eyes.

"I HATE YOU!" Peter screams.

All the anger drains out of Peter the moment they leave. Peter sinks to the ground and puts his head on his knees. What did he do? He hurt Tony. How could he do that? The man was just trying to keep him safe, and that's exactly what a father does. Oh no. What did he do? Peter plays the memory over and over in his mind. His eyes fill with tears when he remembers the crack in his mentor's voice. Peter had always wished that Tony thought of him as a son as much as he thought of Tony as a dad. And now, he probably just lost Tony forever.

"What did I do?" Peter whispers in tears.

Steve is babbling on about a plan that Tony doesn't even pretend to listen to. Their plans usually go to hell in the first few minutes anyway. Tony knew he would make a horrible father. It's why he pushed Peter away after he refused the spot on the team. It's why he spent the nights he had with Peter in the lab worrying that he would mess the kid up. And now, he got what he deserved. He was the worst mentor and father-figure if the kid ever thought of him that way, which apparently he didn't. It hurt like hell. Peter hated him. Of course, Tony doesn't regret keeping Peter in the Tower. If anything happened to the kid, Tony wouldn't be able to live with himself. But Peter's words were honest. He had lost his kid anyway.

"Stark? Tony…Tony!" Steve says softly.

"W-What?" Tony asks looking at the Captain.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?" Natasha asks worriedly.

"I'm fine. Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Tony asks, with an empty look.

"You're crying Tony." Steve says. Everyone looks at him worriedly as he wipes his face quickly.

" Shit. S-sorry. I'm fine." Tony mutters.

"Tony. Tell us what's wrong." Clint says.

"I'm f-" Tony tries.

"Cut the BS Tony. We're a team. You can tell us anything." Natasha says, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony runs a hand across his face. "Well, my kid and I got into a spectacular argument in which he proceeded to tell me that I'm not his dad and that he hates me." Tony says defeatedly, tears already pooling in his eyes again.

"Tony. He was just angry. Kids say things they don't mean when they are angry. That kid idolizes you. He couldn't hate you if he tried." Clint says softly.

"Whether you like it or not, you are that kid's dad. He knows it. We know it. And you should know it too." Sam tells him.

"I bet the squirt is going to be apologizing your ear off by the time we get home." Steve chuckles. Tony smiles slightly.

"Are you sure you want to get into this Tony? You can go home and find your kid." Rhodey offers. Tony composes himself.

"No. You guys would be screwed without me. I'll be fine. Let's just get this over with so I can talk to my kid." Tony sighs.

They nod and take-off.

"Where the hell did these guys come from?" Tony asks, blasting one of the aliens out of the sky.

"Language." Steve says.

"Really Steve?" Everyone asks into the com.

"What?" Steve asks.

"Ok. Guys, they're bringing a huge ass missile out of the portal. Someone get on that please." Clint says, firing arrow after arrow at the never-ending horde.

"Ok, that missile is a problem. We gotta get it from them somehow. Like right now!' Steve yells.

"I got it." Tony says, flying straight toward the aliens with the missile at full speed.

"Ok. I got it. Should I just throw it back in the portal?" Tony asks, grunting with effort as he stabs the creature in the chest.

"Yeah. Get it away from you as soon as possible. We don't know how or when it will detonate." Natasha says.

"Copy that. I wish I could take it back to the lab though. This thing probably has some serious fire-po-"

BOOM.

The world explodes.

"Tony!"

Peter is woken up by a blaring alarm. He lifts himself up and rubs the tear tracks off his face.

"FRIDAY? What's going on?"

"Boss is critically injured. They need all hands on deck. I am authorized to call for backup." FRIDAY says.

"Oh my God." Peter chokes. He grabs his suit and tries to open the window.

"FRIDAY! Let me out!" Peter yells.

"I have direct orders from boss to not let you out under any circumstance." FRIDAY says calmly.

"There's no one else but me! HE'S PROBABLY DYING, PLEASE!" Peter screams.

"I'm sorry. I'm not authorized to go against direct orders." FRIDAY says.

Peter wipes at his eyes. Wait.

"FRIDAY! Take me to the lab!" Peter yells, sprinting into the elevator. Peter sprints into the lab and slams his mentor's StarkTop open.

"Ok...ok..ok." Peter mutters accessing Tony's protocols.

"That should do it! FRIDAY initiate Peter's emergency protocol." Peter says, waiting anxiously.

"Protocol initiated. Access granted." the AI says from above.

"Thank goddess." Peter sighs. Peter strips off his clothes and pulls on his suit.

"Karen, I need you to get me to Mr. Stark as fast as possible." Peter tells his AI.

"Hello, Peter. The fastest way to Mr. Stark will take approximately 19 minutes." Karen says.

"What?! That's too long! How did they get there so fast?" Peter asks.

" _Wait, stupid they took the Jet._ " Peter mutters. Peter runs a hand through his hair and looks around the lab. His eyes settle on his mentor's backup IronMan suit.

"Ok. Umm Karen? I need you to get me access to FRIDAY'S logs through Peter's emergency protocol. And get me access to that IronMan suit." Peter says, running to the IronMan suit.

"Access granted." Karen tells him. Peter double taps the arc reactor in the middle of the suit and it opens up for him.

"If it were in better circumstances, I would think this is awesome." Peter murmurs, looking at the holograms in the suit's helmet.

"Karen? Are you there?" Peter asks.

"Yes. I'm right here Peter." Karen's pleasant voice says.

"Great. FRIDAY, take me to Mr. Stark. Full thrusters. And put me on autopilot." Peter says.

"Of course Peter. Flight duration T minus 6 minutes." FRIDAY informs him. Peter shoots out the window and into the sky.

"Great. Now pull up Mr. Stark's suit logs. I want to know what happened." Peter requests. Peter watches in shock as his mentor is blasted backward caught in the epicenter of a missile blast.

"Show me live footage in his suit right now." Peter chokes out, ignoring the bile in his throat.

"The suit is too damaged. I cannot get a signal from the suit." FRIDAY says.

"Ok. Just tell Bruce and Dr. Cho to be ready in the MedBay. I'm most likely going to be flying him in. Let's hope I'm wrong." Peter tells the AI.

"Done. We will be arriving in about a minute." FRIDAY says.

"Great. Get me into the Avenger's comms as soon as we're in range." Peter says.

Peter exhales slowly. He hopes he won't be too late.

"Tony!" everyone yells.

"Someone get to his position!" Steve yells.

Natasha grunts. "I'm on it."

Natasha runs over to the IronMan suit. She tries to pry open the mask but fails.

"I can't get it open! We can't just leave him here." Natasha says into the comm.

"Sam! Can you fly him somewhere away from the fight? We can't have him more injured!" Clint yells.

"On it!" Sam picks Tony up and gently deposits him on a roof.

"Guys! We don't know how bad he's hurt! We gotta get him to a hospital!" Sam yells.

"A hospital won't do shit if we can't get that goddamn suit off of him." Natasha says, kicking an alien away from her.

"Guys? This is Peter! I'm on my way!" Peter worried voice filling up their ears.

"Kid? How did you...ok it doesn't matter. We need you to get him out of the suit and out of here!" Steve says.

"I know! I took an IronMan suit. I'll be there in a minute!"

"Get him home kid."

Peter stumbles out of the suit and races to Tony's side. Someone must have put him up here to get him away from the fight.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter yells, kneeling at his side.

"Karen. Get FRIDAY to disengage survival mode in his suit." Peter gets out. He was glad he spent so much time working on the IronMan suit with his mentor. He was lucky he knew what to do.

After a moment, FRIDAY speaks through his mask. "Survival mode disengaged." the AI informs him.

Peter double taps the device on Tony's chest and the suit melts off him. Peter takes off his mask and hurriedly puts his ears to Tony's chest. To his relief, he finds a weak, but steady heartbeat.

His mentor's eyes are closed and there are cuts all over his face. He is taking scarily raspy breaths that are shallow and inconstant. Blood is dripping from his mouth. From where Peter can see, Tony has shrapnel from the IronMan suit embedded into his chest and back. Thankfully, Peter doesn't hear any gurgling noises in his chest which at least means there is no blood in his lungs.

Peter pulls his mentor onto his lap and chokes back a sob at his wince.

"Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It-It's Peter. You h-have to wake up now. Please wake up." Peter says, gently shaking Tony's shoulder.

He doesn't get a response.

"I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry. You have to wake up so you c-can y-yell at me and ground me r-remember? You said we were going to talk when y-you got back. Wake up Tony. You have to open your eyes so I know you're ok." Peter sobs.

Tony stirs slightly.

"That's it! Can you hear me? I'm going to get you out of here I promise dad. You have to open your eyes and say something. Anything please." Peter begs, tears glistening in his eyes.

Tony's eyes flicker open slowly and Peter lets out a choked sob.

"Pe'er." Tony asks weakly.

"I'm here." Peter whispers, wiping the blood off Tony's face and carding a bloody hand through his hair.

Tony gazes up at him, struggling to keep his eyes open. But he knew it would freak his kid out more, so he would try.

"I-I'm sorry. For everything. You're the closest thing I-I have for a dad. I'm going to get you out ok?" Peter says, tears running down his cheeks.

Tony tries to reach up to his kid's face but grunts in pain and his hand flops down.

"I'm going to get into the IronMan suit. I'm right here." Peter says, slowly easing his mentor off his lap.

Peter sprints over to the IronMan suit and steps inside. Then, he hurries back to Tony's side.

"FRIDAY, can I pick him up?" Peter asks.

"Picking him up could lead to further blood loss but leaving him here will result fatally." FRIDAY tells him. Peter swallows the lump in his throat. Peter retracts the mask so Tony can see his face. He tries to ignore the muffled scream of pain when he picks his mentor up.

"I need you to focus on me, ok? You'll be up a-and making fun of me for calling you dad in n-no time." Peter tells him softly, his voice cracking. All Peter wants to do is clutch his dad to his chest and break down, but he can't do that. He has to pull it together.

They launch into the air with Peter carrying Tony bridal style. Peter tries to shield Tony from the winds as much as possible but he is as aware of Tony's blood loss as Tony is.

"FRIDAY? H-How much time d-does he have?" Peter asks, trying not to cry.

"He has approximately 11 minutes until the blood loss is fatal." FRIDAY says regretfully.

Peter sucks air in through his nose and exhales through his mouth. He cannot afford to have a panic attack now. Not when his dad needs him.

"Get us home. As fast as the thrusters can go." Peter orders.

"Pete." Tony murmurs.

"What is it Tony?" Peter asks.

"I-I love you son. Just remember that 'k?" Tony asks weakly, looking into his kid's baby-brown eyes.

"No. You're not going to talk like that. Y-You're going to be ok. You can't say that like that." Peter pleads, tears flowing steadily out of his eyes at Tony's words.

Tony hums. "I love you k-kiddo." Tony whispers, closing his eyes.

"No...no...No! Tony! Open your eyes! We're almost there!" Peter yells. As they fly, Peter prays to every God he knows for everything to be ok. For the universe to be fair. It already took two father's from him. It can't take away another.

Peter kisses his mentor's forehead. "You're going to be ok." Peter says, his voice breaking with every word.

His mentor doesn't answer.

"We have arrived." FRIDAY informs him.

Peter flies backward crashing through the windows and into the MedBay. He places Tony on the waiting bed as Tony's med team swarms him. Peter steps out of the suit and clutches Bruce's arm.

"Save dad." Peter says before blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was waaay too long so I decided to make it into two parts! The next/last Chapter will be up soon!


	7. Always

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Last chapter! If you liked this 5+1 please leave a comment below!  
> I'll see you guys in the next one! :3

Peter's eyes flutter open and he sits up with a grunt of pain. He clutches his pounding head and looks around.

"You alright squirt?" Natasha asks.

"W-what happened?" Peter asks, ignoring the question. He looks over at Natasha and Steve, who are sitting in chairs near his bed.

"Do aliens ring a bell?" Steve asks quietly. The memories rush into Peter leaving him breathless. Him yelling at Tony. Getting the alert from FRIDAY. Flying in the IronMan suit and finding his mentor bleeding out in front of him. Rushing him to the Tower. His mentor's last words to him. 

No. 

  
Not last words. He refuses to accept that.

"Where's Tony?" Peter asks, trying to get up. Steve pushes him down easily with a sad expression on his face.

"He's still in surgery son. Bruce and Helen are taking care of him. You've been out for about 4 hours." Steve explains.

"Everyone else is waiting for him. We decided to stay here with you." Natasha says, stroking his hair.

"I-Is he going to be ok?" Peter asks, tears flooding his eyes.

"He'll be fine. He's Tony Stark. He gets through everything." Steve reassures. But Peter's not stupid, he can see the worried glint in the Captain's eyes.

"He has to be ok. He has to." Peter whispers.

Natasha nods to Steve and he rises out of his chair.

"I'm going to go see if the others got any info. Nat will stay here with you ok Pete?" Steve asks fondly. Peter nods and offers a small half-smile.

When he exits the room, Peter sinks down lower into the bed.

"What will I do if something happens to him, Nat?" Peter asks brokenly. Natasha's heart breaks for this sweet teen that had to see his father-figure bleed out in his arms. He's seen more than what most adults have seen in their lifetime, and still, he is the strongest kid she knows. Maybe even the strongest person. She desperately wants to tell him that everything will be alright, but she knows why the teen asked her, and not Steve. He knows that she will not give him false hope.

He knows she will be honest.

"If something happens, we will figure it out together. And if...the worst happens, we will find a way to move on with time." Natasha says, taking his hand.

Peter doesn't reply. He just fixes his stare on the super-spy.

"I don't know if I can move on. If something were to…" Peter trails off.

Natasha climbs on the bed and takes the teen into her arms. She and the boy had grown close through all the training sessions and missions. The whole team was like family to Peter, but she knew she had a special place with the teen. She was the one Peter went to when he needed advice or help if he couldn't go to Tony. She was the one the boy went to for some tough love. And Natasha was grateful for it. She loved the teen. The boy was the team's kid almost as much as he was Tony's.

Peter rests his head on Natasha's chest and stares at his hands.

"Get some sleep Peter. I'll wake you up if anything happens ok?"

Peter nods.

Natasha takes a deep breath and starts singing a Russian lullaby. One of her favorites from her childhood. Peter sighs contently and is soon fast asleep.

"Peter! Wake up!" Natasha says, shaking the teen's shoulder.

"Wha'? Wh'ts goin on?" Peter asks sleepily.

"Tony's out of surgery. They're going to give us the report in a few minutes. Do you want to go?" Natasha asks, eyeing the boy worriedly.

Peter rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "Let's go." he tells her. She nods and they hurry off toward the MedBay waiting room together.

"Where is he?" Peter demands when they get there.

"Hey, squirt. He's out of surgery. Bruce is coming in a few." Clint says tiredly.

Peter nods and slumps into a chair defeatedly.

"You ok son?" Steve asks.

"I'm fine Steve." Peter tells him, looking at the floor. Steve looks at him uneasily, but stays silent.

Bruce and Dr. Helen step into the room and they all stand up.

"How is he? Is he ok?" Peter asks immediately. Bruce puts a hand on his shoulder.

"He's going to make a full recovery." Bruce says with a tired smile. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief.

"He's in an induced coma right now so his body has a chance to heal. He will wake up in at most two days. If we get lucky, he'll wake up tomorrow afternoon." Helen says looking at them all wearily.

"Yes. When he does, he'll recover in less than a week." Bruce adds. Everyone nods, but stays silent.

"You all should get some rest. It's pretty late." Bruce says as Helen leaves. The team nods, say their goodnight's, and head into the elevator toward their rooms. Peter stays with Bruce.

"I'm staying with him." Peter says, looking into Bruce's eyes. Bruce sighs.

"I'm not going to try and argue with you Peter. I'll get another bed in there. Just, try to get some sleep ok?" Bruce asks.

Peter nods as Bruce leads him to Tony's room. Before they go in, Peter turns to Bruce.

"Where is Pepper? Does she know what happened? Is she coming?" Peter asks. She deserved to know what happened more than anyone. The woman was as close to a mother as he was going to get. She was always so kind to him and loved him like a son. He had May, but she was always going to be his 'Aunt' May.

"She tried as hard as she could but she can't get out of this one this time. She has a meeting with the President to discuss some things. She can't come for some time. Maybe in a week." Bruce says sadly.

"I should probably call her. Oh, shoot! My aunt! I didn't tell her-"

Bruce cuts him off. "Don't worry kid. Steve told your aunt what happened. He told her you would call once you woke up." Bruce informs him calmly, handing him a cell-phone.

Peter nods and accepts the phone.

"Pepper's number is on there too." Bruce tells him. Peter nods and looks at the door.

Bruce pushes it open and steps aside. Peter goes inside and turns to Bruce.

"Thank you." Peter says, pulling Bruce into a hug. Bruce returns the hug, patting Peter's back.

"He's going to be ok, kid. Call us if you need anything alright?" Bruce asks. Peter nods and watches, swallowing thickly, as Bruce walks down the hall.

Peter closes the door slowly and walks over to his mentor. He lets his tears flow, yet again, as he looks at his pale, unmoving face. The cuts look cleaned but are still not healed. He is no longer covered in his own blood which Peter is thankful for.

Peter drags a cushioned chair right next to Tony's bed and sits down. Peter cards a hand through his dad's hair slowly and gently. All Peter wants in that moment is for Tony to say something, anything. He would be the happiest and would give up a thousand suits for a lecture right now.

Peter opens the phone and calls his Aunt. She asks how Tony is and they talk for a few minutes. May told him he could stay in the Tower as long as he needed. Peter doesn't know what he did to deserve her. She tells him to get some sleep and hangs up. Then, Peter calls Pepper.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey Pepper. It's Peter."_

_"Hey honey. Are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine. Tony got out of surgery. They said he's going to make a full recovery."_

_"Thank God. I can't get out of this Pete. The vultures here won't let me."_

_"I'm staying with him. Don't worry, I promise I'll keep him safe."_

_"Oh honey. I know he's safe when he's with you. But please try to get some rest. You know what he would say if you stopped taking care of yourself for him."_

_"Yeah ok. And Pepper I'm sorry."_

_"Why are you sorry honey?"_

_"He got hurt. I-I'm supposed to make sure that doesn't happen."_

_"Honey, it's not your fault. Stop beating yourself up. You saved him, don't forget that. Ok, it's pretty late. Get some shut-eye ok sweetie?"_

_"Ok. Goodnight Pepper."_

_"Goodnight Pete. Sleep well."_

Peter hangs up the phone and stares at it. He's only slightly aware of someone carrying a bed into the room and wishing him goodnight.

Peter hesitates for a moment before carefully lifting Tony's shirt. He lets out a strangled sob at the many bandages wrapped around his mentor's chest and stomach. Peter carefully pulls the shirt back over the bandages and lifts the blanket on top of him. Peter leans over and presses a kiss to Tony's forehead.

"I won't let anything like this happen to you ever again. I promise." Peter says. He takes Tony's hand, ignoring the IV which was providing him with extra blood, and rests his head on the edge of Tony's bed.

Tony feels weird. What's the word? Floaty. That's it. He feels like he's floating on a cloud. But, for once, he remembers everything. He remembers the missile and Peter carrying him. And, he remembers telling his son he loves him. He remembers Peter yelling at him, pleading him to stay awake. Tony opens his eyes slowly, only to shut them closed again at the blinding light in the room.

"FRIDAY? Lights 10%. And report. " Tony croaks. The lights dim and Tony opens his eyes.

"The date is June 21. The time is 1 P.M." FRIDAY says from above.

"Wonderful." Tony says sarcastically.

"Would you like me to inform Dr. Cho that you are awake?" FRIDAY asks.

Tony looks over at the side of his bed and smiles as his eyes settle on his sleeping kid. "No. Give me a minute sweetheart."

"Of course boss."

Tony lifts a slightly trembling hand and places it on Peter's head. He runs a hand through his son's brown curls and allows a fond smile to engulf his face. Peter sighs in his sleep and leans into Tony's hand. And Tony remembers something else. Peter called him dad.

After a little while, Peter stirs slightly. Tony's eyes never leave his face. His kid keeps him grounded, more than he can ever know. Peter's eyes flicker open and Tony offers a small smile.

"Good morning kiddo." Tony whispers. Peter's eyes widen.

"You're awake." Peter whispers, looking into Tony's chocolate eyes. Peter carefully stands up out of the chair and sits on the edge of the bed. Tony extends his hands and Peter climbs into the covers, careful not to jostle anything.

"You alright kid?" Tony asks, worriedly. Peter suddenly bursts into tears. And Tony's there stroking his hair and telling him everything is fine.

"I'm s-sorry. I'm s-so s-orry." Peter repeats over and over again.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Spiderling." Tony says soothingly. Peter whimpers and Tony sighs.

"I'm ok. You saved me kiddo." Tony says, lifting Peter's chin so he could see his eyes. Peter's eyes, once bright and shining with intelligence, are broken and empty. And it terrifies Tony.

"I-If you would have died. The last thing I-I would have said to y-you would have been..." Peter trails off, silent tears streaking down his face. Tony pulls his son to his chest, holding back a wince.

"I love you kiddo. Nothing will ever change that. Especially not a few angry words."

"I told you I hated you. Y-You shouldn't love me." Peter says, looking at his trembling hands.

"Yeah? Well, I do. What are you going to do about it?" Tony asks teasingly.

"I love you dad." Peter smiles. Tony is filled with warmth at his words. Wow. He was a dad. It sounded...right. Tony pulls Peter in a little tighter. Peter clears his throat and composes himself.

"Ok. I'm getting Bruce." Peter tells him.

"Nooo!" Tony whines.

"FRIDAY? Get Bruce. Tell him Tony is awake please." Peter says, smirking at Tony.

"Traitor." Tony grumbles. Peter laughs.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Peter asks, his face set with worry.

"I'm A-Ok Petey." Tony tells him.

"Petey? Really?" Peter asks, raising an eyebrow. Tony laughs and ruffles Peter's curls.

Tony shifts a little bit and lets out an involuntary groan of pain.

"What's wrong?" Peter squeaks frantically.

"Will you take a chill pill, Pete? I'm ok buddy." Tony says, smiling slightly. Before Peter can reply, Bruce comes running in.

"Hey, Brucie Bear." Tony says, giving him a small nod.

"You gave everyone a fright Tony." Bruce says, walking over to the bed.

"He needs more pain meds Bruce." Peter tells the doctor.

"I keep telling the kid I'm fine. And he won't listen." Tony complains.

"Tony, You and I both know the kid is right." Bruce says, pulling the scary blood IV out of Tony's wrist and replacing it with a new one with clear liquid. Peter smirks as Tony rolls his eyes.

"Ok. I just gave you morphine. It should help with the pain. Helen will be in here shortly and will replace your bandages and check your stitches."

"Bruce, how bad was it?" Peter asks tentatively.

"Bruce. Not in front of my kid." Tony says seriously.

"I watched you bleed out in my arms. I want to know how bad it was." Peter says looking at Tony.

"He was in surgery for about 7 hours. And, we lost him a couple times on the table. Mostly, in the first hour." Bruce tells him sadly.

"Lost him meaning…" Peter asks, afraid of the answer.

"He flatlined Pete. His...his heart stopped beating." Bruce tells him. Tony blows out of his mouth and cards his fingers through his hair. Peter runs a hand across his face, wiping his glistening eyes.

"But he's fine now Peter. He's going to be fine in a few days." Bruce says kindly, patting Peter's back.

Peter nods.

"Just take care of him. Make sure he doesn't get up or do anything stupid, and he should be good to go." Bruce tells the teen.

"Are you guys done treating me like a baby?" Tony whines. Peter silences him with a look.

"Ok. Thanks Bruce."

"No problem kid."

Peter walks back over to Tony and sits down with a sigh.

"Kid. I'm fine. You can stop worrying. You're going to go grey before me." Tony says, only half-serious.

Peter looks at his mentor. "I wouldn't be surprised if I did." Peter says chuckling quietly.

"But really. I'm fine because of you. Bruce said I'll be fine. You're scaring me bud." Tony tells him.

"Of course I'm worried about you! Do you know what you said? You told me you loved me. You called me your son. B-because you thought you were going to die. Do you know how scary that was? I was terrified." Peter refused to let his tears fall. He had already cried too much, so he fixed his red, puffy eyes on his mentor.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Peter." Tony tells him, his voice soft, and reaches out for his kid. Peter scooched closer and took his hand so Tony wouldn't hurt himself.

"But do you know what I was thinking?" Tony asks gently. Peter shook his head.

"If I did die then, I would die knowing that you knew I loved you. That I thought of you as a son."

Peter chokes back a sob and Tony takes him in his arms.

"I-I thought you were going to die in my arms. I thought I was going to lose another dad." Peter whispers into Tony's shirt.

"I'm not leaving you anytime soon buddy. I promise." Tony says softly.

Peter nods.

"Tony. Wake up. Wake up." Peter says, shaking his mentor's shoulder gently.

"Mmmm. Go back to sleep." Tony says sleepily.

Peter laughs and gets up out of the bed. He thanks the nurse who brought them food, and walks back to the bed.

"I'll eat your waffles." Peter threatens with a smile.

"You wouldn't dare." Tony says, opening his eyes. Peter giggles and sits on the bed with a tray.

"We wanted to watch 'Inception' right? FRIDAY? Play 'Inception' please." Peter requests.

The movie starts and Peter snuggles in with Tony.

"Ok. You gotta eat Tony." Peter insists. Tony wrinkles his nose.

"No thanks. I'm fine kiddo." Tony says, resting his head on Peter's shoulder.

"I'll call Pepper and tell her you're being difficult. And I'm not bluffing." Peter says with a smirk.

Tony grimaces. "Fine."

Tony lets Peter feed him, and little by little until the food is gone.

"Do you want some water? Nevermind, you're having water." Peter says, helping Tony with the bottle. Tony laughs and drinks.

"I love you." Peter says sleepily.

"I love you too Petey."

** Two weeks later... **

_So much blood. Too much._

_"No..no...no. Tony!" Peter yells, shaking his mentor's shoulder._

_"I-I love you son." Tony says, his eyes fluttering shut._

_"Please. Don't. Dad. Please." Peter pleads, holding Tony close to his chest. Peter leans down, kisses Tony's forehead and brushes Tony's hair out of his eyes._

_"I love you kiddo." Tony whispers as his heart stops._

_"NO!"_

"Pete. Wake up. Peter! It's just a dream! Wake up buddy." Tony says, carding a hand through Peter's sweaty curls. Peter jolts out of bed and falls to the floor.

"Woah. Peter. Deep breaths. Hold on." Tony says, kneeling next to him on the floor.

"No. No. no." Peter cries, holding onto Tony like a lifeline.

"Hey, it's ok kiddo. I'm right here. Deep breaths. Here, follow me." Tony says taking exaggerated breaths. He takes Peter's trembling hand and puts it on his chest, so Peter can feel his heartbeat.

Peter's wheezing slows and he falls onto his dad's chest weakly.

"It's ok Pete." Tony whispers, rubbing circles into Peter's back.

"You're here." Peter murmurs.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere kiddo." Tony says softly.

"Will you stay with me dad? J-Just until I fall asleep?" Peter asks, looking up at Tony.

"Of course. Always." Tony promises, pulling Peter closer.

And he does.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment and kudos please! :)  
> I love you all! Have a great day/night!


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